The Maryland Department of Health for months did not notify hundreds of people who may have received spoiled vaccines from a contractor, and an employee who reported the mishandled doses alleges in a complaint that the agency retaliated against her for pressing to fix the issues.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised the state health department to revaccinate the patients who may have gotten ineffective doses, according to emails obtained by The Baltimore Sun. A Maryland Department of Health spokesman said the agency planned to notify vaccine recipients by this week of their need for another shot.
The whistleblower filed her complaint this month with the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services after the state health department’s inspector general declined to investigate and referred her to the federal agency.
The complaint centers on vaccines administered by TrueCare24. The state hired the company in June to run mobile vaccination clinics under an emergency contract worth $1.4 million, although it has paid out only about $166,000. Continue Reading
